In a sweeping departure from his work for the past 23 years, Paul Thomas Anderson sets his latest film in the present. In fact, “One Battle After Another” feels so impeccably timed that it’s hard to believe he’s been writing it for 20 years. Detention centers on the U.S.-Mexico border, fabricated protest violence and the use of military forces against American citizens comprise just some of the relevant imagery Anderson places in his nearly three-hour action thriller. With the help of a lively cast and unsurprisingly impressive filmmaking, this audacious epic cements itself as one of the year’s best.
“One Battle After Another” follows the French 75, a modern revolutionary group who engages in violent governmental resistance. Members free detained immigrants and attack political offices, then rob banks to fund their continued endeavors. Now retired, explosives expert Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) must snap back into action when his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) is taken by the violent and corrupt Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn).
In a sea of renowned actors that includes DiCaprio, Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Regina Hall, it’s impressive how Anderson manages to keep a strong political message front and center. Solidarity and comradeship propel the story, whether that’s among revolutionaries, between father and daughter or with undocumented immigrants in need. Sergio (Del Toro), community leader and Willa’s sensei, hosts a makeshift underground railroad in his apartment building, housing recently-arrived migrants and evacuating them when the military closes in. And with Willa’s unofficial induction into the French 75, Anderson affirms that the fire of revolution crosses generational boundaries.
“It’s about love,” Hall told WSN in a virtual press conference. “It is about family. It doesn’t have to be blood family. [It’s about] Connection, commitment, revolution.”
All of this is not to say that “One Battle After Another” is entirely beholden to reality. The film is infused with absurdity, which provides some welcome comic relief. The French 75 communicates over the phone with ridiculous code words and phrases — Bob’s pent-up frustration explodes when he can’t answer “what time is it?” — and even uses the lyrics to Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” as a countersign. One plotline follows Lockjaw’s desperate efforts to gain acceptance into an elite faction of white supremacists who call themselves the Christmas Adventurers. You can’t help but laugh at the casualness with which these bigots discuss the superiority of the white race and the vileness of interracial relationships, especially since they’re wearing khakis, tennis shoes and zip-up sleeveless vests.
The film’s well-crafted soundtrack underscores its sincerity and satire, featuring perfectly placed needle drops from Steely Dan and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers that contrast the film’s modern backdrop. Anderson even finds humor in his musical choices: Willa’s high school dance blares Sheck Wes’s “Mo Bamba,” hilariously grounding the film in the present day. For the score, Anderson recruited longtime collaborator Jonny Greenwood, the lead guitarist and keyboardist of Radiohead. Euphoric string crescendos and dissonant synths frame the revolutionary acts of the French 75, while a jazzy, discordant piano pervades the rest of the film, sometimes feeling off-kilter against the constant action. Still, Greenwood manages to uniquely capture the chaos of the constantly evolving narrative.
If there’s one thing that stands out in this elaborate soundtrack, it’s the love between Bob and Willa. Bob relentlessly searches for his daughter, fueled by typical fatherly overprotectiveness and a need to hold on to the only person who gives his reclusive, paranoid life meaning. Likewise, Willa does everything in her power and then some to find her way back home. Instilled with her father’s uncompromising revolutionary spirit from a young age and a sharp resourcefulness she developed on her own, Willa arrives to this battle well-prepared.
“The central heart and the core of the film was Willa’s journey,” DiCaprio said during the press conference. “This idea of this generational gap between the two characters really came to fruition. He doesn’t understand her, but they’re all they have.”
As unprecedented crackdowns on the entertainment industry and the presence of the National Guard plagues major U.S. cities, it’s about time a film spoke directly to our present moment. What’s our salvation in such fraught times? Anderson tells us: solidarity, persistence and compassion. Don’t just hope for a better tomorrow – do the work to make it happen.
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